Business Simplified: Connections, Conversations, Relationships

Last week I took a break from working all together. My focus was on my two daughters, Sapphina and Zaria, and getting them settled into their respective colleges out East.

They’re exactly where they need to be – Rhode Island School of Design and Williams College.

(The picture here is of me and my wife on the campus at Williams, started in 1793. The girls wouldn’t allow a “first day of school” picture. Those days have passed.)

And I’m exactly where I need to be – back in my home office in Verona, Wisconsin, running the Cafe Writer and Cafe Writer Premier communities (the latter is a smaller paid sub-set of the former).

I know I’m doing what I was meant to do when I get comments like:

“You set me free” (from a guy who took my unconventional advice for his business).

“I’ve been minimalist with books over the years, and yours made it to my bookshelf.”

(She sent me a picture, with The Freelancer Manifesto squeezed in among books by Paulo Coelho, Mitch Albom, Robert Kiyosaki, and Napoleon Hill.)

“I’ve had all the clients I can handle since I went to your Vermont retreat in October 2017. You helped me realize my strengths and formulate a plan.” (That was Brandy Booth.)

It’s been exactly seven years now. I started the Facebook group on August 12, 2012, with 40 of my copywriter friends.

It’s since grown to 9,585 people who are engaged, active, and still as helpful with ideas, advice, encouragement, and feedback as ever. I truly love this community.

More than talking about copywriting per se, we talk about building businesses. We talk about building our own businesses, not someone else’s.

We talk a lot about making genuine connections with people, not mass marketing, mass cold emailing, or endless pitches on job boards.

In fact, I’m against job boards all together, and don’t allow job postings in my group.

There’s a better way.

It involves making the right kind of connections with the right kind of people. Reaching out to a lot of people, but then being very selective about who you actually work with.

You’re the one doing what I call the “sifting and sorting,” not hoping the prospect “picks” you out of a pool of candidates.

The Cafe Way flips the positioning.

We don’t do things the way everyone else is.

I’m also about conversations. Real, deep, authentic conversations where the goal isn’t just to close the deal.

So many copywriters and marketers seem like they’re doing something to prospects when they talk to them. My attitude is that I want to do something for the prospect.

It’s not about jamming them into your funnel. It’s about serving.

Different approach.

Connections, conversations, and then…relationships.

Relationships are the lifeblood of a successful business, and I think we’ve gotten too far away from them.

People are so caught up in the quick fix, the quick buck, the quick one-and-done deal, that they don’t take the time to get to know each other on a deeper level.

In the Cafe, I’m getting to know people in a deeper way. I’ve had thousands of one-on-one conversations with members. Who does that anymore? Not many.

I also advocate developing deeper relationships with our clients. When you do that, you don’t have to keep looking for the next gig, chasing the next clients, or following the masses…who are following the followers.

We do things a different way. The Cafe Way.

Stick around, and you’ll see what I mean.

Connections. Conversations. Relationships.

Author Steve Roller

I'm a business coach, author, copywriter, world traveler (33 countries on five continents so far), and professional speaker. In addition to helping companies get more customers and make more money, I help other writers create profitable businesses. I offer one-on-one coaching, professional copy critiques, and live, in-person business-building workshops. When I'm not writing, coaching, or speaking, I enjoy nothing more than hanging out with my wife and four kids and planning my next adventure.